The Flower
by Mauryn
Summary: A simple flower brings old friends back together. Rated T only for some mild language.


"Your flower is falling," Axel said.

"My what?!" Angel cried. She whirled on him, her crowbar in hand. "Just what the hell do you mean by that?!"

"Your flower," Axel repeated. When she glared at him and looked like she might swing that crowbar at any time, he went on, "That flower in your hair! It's gonna fall out. And does Sam know you took that from his garden?" Axel added.

"What flower in my hair?" Angel said, confused.

"It's real nice, really brings out your eyes."

"Oh, fashion critiques from the military man," Angel smirked. "Never know what you're gonna get from anyone around here. But what the hell are you talking about, soldier boy?"

Was Axel finally losing his mind?

"You've been wearing it all day… What, you didn't notice it?" Axel asked.

"Oh, shit!" Angel groaned.

This explained a whole lot, like why She'd been getting these sidelong smirks from some of the guys, and why Nicole and Cindy kept looking at her with almost envious expressions.

With a gasp, she put down her crowbar, her hands flying to her hair, and she gently dislodged the soft-petaled plant. Holding it in front of her face, she inhaled its scent and smiled.

Then, the smile evaporated as she lowered the flower and gave Axel a penetrating look.

"Hey, don't look at me like that," axel said quickly. "I didn't do it."

"I wasn't and will never even think of looking at you like that," Angel told him bluntly. "I hate soldiers. And I know who did it. Where's Mohamad?"

"I'm not a soldier. I'm a marine," Axel told her for the fifth or sixth time.

"Whatever, same difference," she muttered, obviously disinterested in military specifics.

"Now where's Mohamad?"

"I didn't do it, whatever it was," came Mohamad's voice from the end of the corridor.

"Speak of the devil."

Angel turned towards the boy, her face stern.

"Mohamad! Come here!" she said.

"Hey, I got an alibi," the young man complained even as he did what she wanted and approached her carefully.

"And a guilty conscience? Alibi for what?" Angel asked, trying not to grin too much at the boy's hesitance. She did not think she had ever ben that hard on him, had she?

"For whatever it is you're about to blame me for," Mohamad said straight-faced.

Wearing a resigned, almost sad expression, Angel held out the flower to him.

"Oh, Mohamad," she sighed, her body relaxing, her whole demeaner softening as she gazed at this young man who she really did love, just not in the way he wanted her to do. "I thought we'd talked about this and you understood. It's very pretty, and I'm very touched, but I already told you that—"

"Hey, I'd love to take credit for that, but I just said, I didn't do it," he interrupted her.

"Who else could get away with raiding Sam's garden but you?" Angel asked. "No one, that's who," she went on and answered her own question. "None of us would dare."

"Well, how about the man, himself," Mohamad asked.

"you're saying Sam did this?"

"No, not saying. I know he did," Mohamad insisted. "I saw him put that in your hair while you were asleep. He's up there now. Why don't you go ask him, yourself, then maybe you'll finally believe me, Angel Eyes?"

The woman froze, her eyes going very wide.

"What the hell did you just call me?" she whispered, stricken to her core.

"That's what Sam calls you, his Angel Eyes, but you didn't hear it from me. He told me you were … Hey, where you going?"

The woman whirled away from Mohamad and started to run towards the stairs to the roof.

"Oh my god!" she almost shrieked as she ran nearly through Axel, who barely had time to get out of her way. "No… It can't be!"

* * *

"What the hell was that about?" the marine demanded, but he was also smiling. "He calls her Angel Eyes, well, screw that, I'm gonna start calling her bulldozer. Maybe we should go warn Sam, though?" he suggested.

"Gonna call her that right to her face, really?" Mohamad asked. "Let me know when you do 'cause I wanna sell tickets to that one."

"But No," Mohamad disagreed with Axel's question. "Let's just leave 'em alone for a little while."

"Yeah, well, you know those two better than me, so, whatever you say, kid."

Axel gave the boy a penetrating look.

"Did you try and hit on her?" he asked.

Mohamad's face stiffened with embarrassment.

"She's not your sister, is she? Or, your daughter? So, what business is it of yours?" Mohamad shot back.

"Hey, I'm sorry, kid," Axel apologized. "And I'll take that as a yes," he added. "Damn, you are one brave S O B, kid! I mean it! I'm impressed!"

Mohamad gave him the finger and walked away.

* * *

Angel took the stairs three at a time and burst out on to the roof.

"Hey, Sam?" she called, then inwardly smacked herself. No use shouting to him when he could not hear her. She was always forgetting that fact. This seemed to make Sam happy, however, her always forgetting his deafness. But it still made her feel like a heel each time it happened.

She walked over to the big man's side and stood watching in silence as he sprayed his plants with the water. He noticed her as she came around one of the racks, and she smiled up at him.

"Hi," Angel said, looking over all his plants. "You gotta green thumb, don't you? It's really flourishing up here."

Sam smiled and nodded to her. He started to turn away, but she touched his arm.

"I need to talk to you," Angel said.

She lightly touched sam's shoulder. Then, reaching up, she took the flower down from her hair. Laying it flat in her palm, she held it out and showed it to him.

"One of yours," she murmured once she was sure of having his undivided attention. "It's very pretty, Sam. But, uh, why? What's the occasion?"

The big man grinned down at her.

"You too old for dolls, but not flowers, little Angel Eyes?" he asked quietly.

It was the longest sentence Angel had heard him say since she had fallen in with the tall bearded deaf man and his teenage companion. Sam was no mute, but he generally preferred to communicate through sign. But Angel's signing knowledge was rudimentary at it's very best.

She swallowed hard against the lump in her throat. "OH, you bet I still do," she said, her eyes filling with gentle tears. "But only two other people besides my Grandpa really knew about that, and one is dead. Is it really you, Silent Sam?" she asked.

He chuckled, then he showed her the back of his hand, and the crescent-shaped scar. Then, he used the back of that same hand to wipe away some of her tears. "I told you so, Angel eyes," he said quietly.

"Oh my God!" Angel gave a low cry, then flung herself against the big man, hugging him as tight as she could. 'Oh my God! It is really you, my silent Sam! Where the hell have you been? What have you been doing—"

She broke off and reluctantly pulled away from him. "Shit, I'm sorry, you didn't get any of that, did you?" she apologized. He would not be able to lip read her if she kept clinging to him like that with her face buried against his shoulder.

"Been around, and doing this and that," he answered her.

She gaped up at him. 'How did you know what I just said?" she asked. "You got some kind of deaf man's telepathy or something?"

"Deaf man telepathy, funny," Sam chuckled. "Heard some," he replied, touching his ribs. "and guessed the rest."

"I should have known."

Angel sighed.

"You just stopped writing ten years ago," Angel said, putting her hands on her hips, and looking mildly irritated. "Not even a damn cheap postcard! I was afraid you'd died. Hell, I even went around and checked all the morgues for John Doe's for weeks looking for you! I told everyone I was looking for my big brother who'd gone missing, so they'd let me in."

The big man seemed floored by this, and for a moment, he could not respond.

Angel had no trouble filling up the silence, however. All her pent-up frustrations from ten years ago came boiling out.

"That's right," Angel went on. "I eventually put out a damn Missing Persons' report on you, you big jackass! Hell, I even had my cop X-husband looking for you."

Sam winced visibly at that remark.

"What, you seem surprised? You write to me at least once if not twice a week for more than half my life, and then drop off the face of the Earth, and you think I wouldn't care enough to look for you?" she demanded.

Sam bowed his head, not knowing what to say. Seeing him like that, Angel relented.

"How long?" she asked.

He looked at er, puzzled.

"How long did you know it was me. You hadn't actually seen me since I was seven."

"Knew that first night, when you saved us, first time I looked in your eyes," he told her. "You didn't know me anymore, forgot signs I taught you, so—"

Now it was Angel's turn to wince.

"Well, dammit, Sam, that's not fair! You were, what, sixteen or seventeen last time I saw you. I mean, well, you looked way different back then. I mean, guess you didn't have that last growth spurt yet, I guess, and, and—"

She stammered to a halt.

"You look different now. I still knew," he accused, but he was starting to grin.

"Oh, damn Sam," she exclaimed, and hugged him again. She was also starting to grin.

She held on to him for a long time. But just as she drew back and reached up to take his bearded face in her hands, Mohamad came out on to the roof.

"Hey," he called loudly to warn them both.

"Mohamad's here," she told Sam.

Angel beckoned the young man over, then she put one hand on San's face and one on Mohamads, drawing all three of them close together.

"I was just about to make this big goof here promise me to keep in touch, no matter what," she told Mohamad. But I'm now including you in that too, Mo. So how about it, my two favorite fellas in the whole wide batshit crazy world! Do you two swear with me that we stay family forever, that we take care of each other, no matter what?"

"I swear," both older and younger man said in unison.

"Family," Sam said softly, beaming at Angel and Mohamad.

"Family" she and the young man repeated together.

Angel removed her hand from their faces. She looked them both over, then gave a nervous laugh, wondering why a sudden chill was creeping slowly up her spine.

"What's wrong?" Mohamad asked.

Angel blinked and stared at him.

"Huh?" she asked.

"You trembled and spaced out there for a sec," Mohamad stated.

"No, I did not … Did I, Sam?" she asked.

"You did," Sam agreed quietly.

Gazing long and hard at the two people who now meant the most to her, the woman heaved a heavy sigh.

"Why do I have a feeling I'm going to live to regret this vow?" she asked.

"Ah, dammit, I hate it when she says stuff like that," Mohamad groaned.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

Yep, another lighthearted, slightly heartwarming, slightly haunting one shot. These seem to be taking me over lately. Hope you enjoyed it.


End file.
